


Misadventures in Dating

by Silvamoon



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Dorks in Love, Established Relationship, First Dates, Fluff, M/M, all aboard the fluff train, other paladins are minor roles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-14 23:22:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16050689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silvamoon/pseuds/Silvamoon
Summary: Silly first date antics at an alien amusement park. Lance endeavors to take Keith on the best first date ever. Keith just doesn't know it yet.





	Misadventures in Dating

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! Here's my very first attempt at writing a fanfic. I think it turned out ok? Please leave comments, or kudos if you like. I may be motivated to try writing more.
> 
> Many thanks go to [Pterodotyl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pterodotyl/pseuds/Pterodotyl) for being a wonderful beta reader.

_ It’s a tourist trap. _

That was Lance’s first thought about the large reddish planet hanging outside the observation window. From the way Coran described it, the label wasn’t too far off. The  space expert informed everyone about the locals converting almost all available space into various attraction zones. Sure there were some residential areas scattered between the different sectors, but most preferred to live on one of the three nearby moons and commute from there. The effect was that even from this distance, the planet looked alive; covered by as many twinkling lights as a city at night. It all seemed a bit weird to Lance, but who was he to judge? He only had two thoughts in mind. One, they were all getting a rare relaxation day on that planet. Two, it was the perfect spot for a date. Add all that together and he had made his decision. He was going to take Keith on the best first date ever. Keith just didn’t know it yet.

Lance sort of had it planned out. He knew exactly which section he wanted to go to, and a basic idea of what they could do. The main problem was working up the nerve to actually ask. He didn’t think Keith would say no, so that could get checked off the worry list. He didn't think the idea was bad, either. He could do this. Shoot some finger guns, smile, and they’d be off to date land lickety-split. It had to be perfect. No _. _ It would be perfect. He would play it cool. The thought helped him walk down the hallway with a spring in his step, until Keith came around the corner and they nearly collided.

Lance may or may not have let out a startled squawk of “Quiznak!”

“Hi Lance,” Keith greeted, unfazed.  
“You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Lance gasped, clutching his chest, which just earned an unsympathetic eye roll. “You did that on purpose.”  
“I wouldn’t try scaring you to death.”  
“Right, you’d go the direct route.” The comment slipped out before he could stop it.  _ Fudge. _ Why did he say that? Nerves, had to be nerves. “What were you doing anyway?”  
“Finishing training.”  
“Is that all you do?” And why’d he say  _ that!? _ His palms began sweating. Okay so maybe it was more than nerves, he never could seem to resist getting a few jabs in.  
“You know I don’t.” Keith’s forehead wrinkled.  
“Right, right. You have a schedule.”  _ Just kill me now...  _ This kept getting worse. At this rate, their relationship would be ending before it really started.  
“Is there a point to all this?” the voice held a slight warning tone, reminding Lance of the original goal. Thank you, Keith.  
“Yeah! There actually is. I got a question, a serious one.”  
“I’m listening.”  
“Do you want to go on a...date?” the question bubbled out.  
Keith stared at him.  
“We’ve been together a month. We’ve gone on dates,” he deadpanned.  
“Those don’t count.”  
"..."  
“I mean they count! They totally count!” he hastily added after receiving a look. “But what, with fighting the Galra and defending the universe, we don’t get many days off to relax. So I want to spend it together with you.”  
All true. They had had little ‘dates’ around the castle. Mostly consisting of desensitizing Keith to some good old fashioned cuddling sessions — which okay, the boy liked touch and latched onto it faster than expected. But even throwing in a few Balmera gem-lit food goo dinners, it didn’t exactly scream romantic.  
“Alright.” The answer snapped Lance out of his thoughts.  
“What?”  
“I’ll go.”  
“Yes!” He punched the air. “You don’t know what you’re in for. I’m going to throw so much charm at you that it’ll out-dazzle that knife of yours.” Lance shot a winning smile, which Keith didn’t react at all to — must be seriously underestimating his skill level.  
“Uh huh.” Keith started walking away. “I’m going to shower.”  
“Ok! See you later, babe! Oh! And no jacket. We’re keeping this casual,” he grinned, shooting finger guns. 

Besides doing everything completely backwards, insulting his boyfriend, and almost messing the whole thing up, he considered it a success. He had a date! An honest-to-God real date. He almost couldn’t believe it. 

A few minutes later found the entire team leaving the castle and heading to planet Palne. He hadn’t been joking about it being a giant tourist trap. Everything looked so packed together that the natural red soil barely poked through. Flashing advertisement banners for the attractions littered the sky. 

Allura spoke up as their pod found its way to the landing zone and settled in.  
“Alright everyone. Before we disembark, I have a few things to note. First, this planet is designed to be accomodating for all types of visitors. Since no one is wearing their armor, there shouldn’t be any trouble with blending in. Secondly, I expect everyone back in about nine vargas. That means, a little past sunset to return to the castle. And-”  
“What if we’re late?” Hunk interrupted in worry. “Does the whole planet catch fire? Oh, please don’t tell me we’re all going to end up extra crispy.”  
“That would be pretty improbable...”  
“Oh, but he’s close,” Coran piped in, “the entire area actually gets colder than a Tapian’s back side. Though the worst outcome is ending up with a case of the Wellies. Which is more of a confounding nuisance than anything. So just don’t stay out too long if you want to avoid all that.”  
Lance didn’t know if he wanted to know what any of that was. “Right, got it. So who’s going where?”  
“Me and Hunk are going to the western sector. They have a whole area devoted to current innovations, and even have some unreleased products out for testing purposes. Can you believe it?” Pidge’s eyes took on a starry, shimmery look.  
“Well have fun in your little technoland. We’re going to the coolest area,” he bragged, throwing an arm around Keith.  
“Which you still haven’t told me what it is.”  
“You’ll see.”  
“What about money? I don’t want another Space Mall incident.” Hunk shuddered.  
“That is precisely what I have been trying to get to.” Allura cleared her throat to continue. “As a sign of good faith towards supporting Voltron, the planet’s ambassador has assured me that everything shall be of no charge.”

That earned a few relieved cheers, huge relief to Lance too. GAC wasn’t exactly easy to come by. Once it quieted down, Allura got their attention again, holding up some multicolored bracelets.  
“You’ll need to wear one of these,” she passed them out “apparently they’re common for special visitors. All vendors should recognize them.”  
“Sweet! We’re like VIPs!” he said.  
“So we can buy whatever we want?” Hunk asked.

“To a certain extent…” her face pinched slightly. “Just don’t overdo it and try to enjoy yourselves.”

Taking that as their leave, everyone said their goodbyes. The area was set up like a train station. Gray pathways split off to nearby hovering shuttles that could transport people to any area of the planet. Color coordinated pictures helped to ensure that no one would get lost, even if they couldn’t read the language. Lance led the way into a waiting shuttle and Keith followed not far behind. 

His heart fluttered like crazy, even after settling into the seats. The whole ride didn’t last nearly long enough to calm it. He remembered chatting along the way, but honestly couldn’t recall one single word. This was it. This was where he was going to fulfill the best date ever promise. The amusement park.  

If he didn’t know better, he would swear that the park creators had visited Earth and decided to rip off Disney World. It had that same family friendly feel to it, including colorful rides, tempting smells, and Voltron themed mascots with costumed paladins wandering around. Of all things, there was even something that looked like the Galra version of ‘It’s a Small World’. Large, ‘Under new construction’ signs were plastered all over the attraction, while posters of ‘It’s a Coalition World’ (Translation courtesy of Lance) were listed as coming soon. Either way, he was glad it was closed, even if it was temporary. The thought of a miniature Zarkon figure singing the cursed tune sent shudders up his spine. It would not surprise him at all if the song managed to find its way here from the other end of the galaxy, what with its annoying cheerful catchiness. Upbeat, repetitive...and...now it was stuck in his head. Great. Thanks brain. Oh, with added bonus of made-up Galra based lyrics and mental images. Why did his imagination have to be so good at this level of self-torture? He shook his head in an attempt to rid himself of the thoughts.

“Lance?” Keith’s voice cut through the distraction, mouth pressed in a thin line.  
“Huh? Oh, I’m fine. What did you say?”  
“I asked what you wanted to do first.”  
“Oh! Ok, babe, you’re gonna love this. I grabbed a map earlier and have everything figured out for maximum ride effectiveness.” Rambling on about his plan, he was a few minutes into it before noticing a certain paladin had moved.  
“Keith!” he scrambled forward, shouting. “Where are you going!?” His supposed boyfriend was walking away without him. Rude!  
“There’s food.” He paused for Lance to catch up.  
“Everyone knows you’re supposed to go on rides first. We can get food later.”  
“Real food.” Keith protested, close enough to poke Lance’s cheek in the direction of the stands. _Ooh_. Ok. Maybe he had a point.

The smell hit first. A delicious aroma combination of fried, sugary, roasted goodness that he thought could only be found back in fairs at home. Vendors waved around colored bits and blobs of various sizes. His eyes roams over the choices till catching a familiar shape.  
“Is that cotton candy!?” he gasped in delight at a nearby vendor spinning the ware onto a cone. Other than being green and lumpy, it could easily pass for the tasty Earth treat.  
“Only one way to find out.” Keith approached the stand to get them one each. Lance pulled a sticky piece off and popped it in his mouth.

It did not taste like cotton candy. At all. More like turkey coated in chocolate pudding, which once he got past the oddness, was actually pretty good. They went around trying whatever else caught their eyes. Hey, who could turn down free food? There were space nachos, some weird fuzzy fruit, more imitation cotton candy, and a spiky thing that tasted like sneakers. They were quick to spit out that last one, then tried to dare the other into taking a second bite. Eventually they both gave up and called it a draw. Lance felt pleasantly full by the time they veered back to the ride section and were deciding what to go on first. The park map had gotten lost somewhere during the walk, along with Lance’s masterplan. So what to choose…aha!  
“Let’s go on that!” he pointed at the nearby teacup ride. Keith only responded with a raised eyebrow.  
“Come on!” he grinned. Yeah it wasn’t exactly a thrilling ride. Keith most likely wanted to go on stuff like ‘The Skyscraper Screamer’ or ‘Galra Crasher’. While those rides sounded awesome—definitely on his list. The teacups always brought back a goofy burst of nostalgia. He wanted to share that.  
“First one to puke loses,” he goaded and _that_ got a response.  
“I’m not going to puke on a kiddie ride.” Keith leveled a challenge accepted gaze.

Oh, it was  _ on _ .

Lance grabbed an arm in glee and pulled towards the ride. New life goal: Make Keith hurl like Hunk. Best part being that all that food would be a useful ally, and that had been all Keith’s idea. Lance immediately moved them to the front of the line—no waiting being another perk for Voltron today. They got seated in a purple cup with gold trimming and a floral pattern.. Lance put his hands on the wheel, not caring how out of place the two of them looked. Especially Keith in his default grumpy cute folded arms posture.

The cups started to spin, slow. Traveling in one lazy looping circle and causing a group of small alien slimes to gurgle in clear excitement. Keith maintained a blank expression and didn’t look anywhere close to nauseous levels. Well…that could be fixed. Lance gave the wheel an experimental tug. To his delight it felt like it worked like the ones back on Earth, giving a slight lurch with the effort. He adjusted his grip and pulled. Hard. The cup kicked into motion, revolving in a tighter and quicker circle.  
Keith cracked a grin and then his hands were joining Lance’s own on the wheel. That served as the silent signal for the competition to begin. Hands whirled around in a blur to grasp for purchase. The cup spun faster, and faster, and faster. Keith’s stupid gloves were actually working to their benefit here, providing extra grip. Lance’s tongue poked out in concentration, he didn’t want to risk losing even a second of speed by getting tangled up. No way was he going to goof. The pace kept increasing and there was no way to judge their speed. Only a dull building force pressing back. His dizzy brain latched onto a ‘turn, turn, turn’ mantra. Keep moving, got to win. The wheel became the sole focus of his vision. Blocking out all other sight except for blobs of tan, white, and purple. The colors whirled into a hypnotizing pinwheel smudge and turned everything into a simplified bliss of sensations. Warmth, swaying, laughing, light-headed dizziness, and...nausea…an alarming ’ _Oh God. I’m going to hurl!’_ thought flashed, before it all went dark.

Lance did not remember the ride stopping, or even getting out of the cup. Recollection was a hazy memory of swaying around on jellified legs, bumping into some solid and some not so solid bodies. All until he found himself resting a supporting hand against one of the many park lamp posts. Bent forward and fighting to keep his stomach contents down. Thankfully, he didn’t see any signs of sick on himself. That would have been such an embarrassing loss. Speaking of…maybe the competition had been a bad idea? He could feel the burning regret in his gut. Or was that the space nachos? A burp confirmed that it was definitely the nachos trying to make a reappearance. Ugh…He breathed until the danger passed. At least Keith seemed to be in the same condition on the opposite side of the same post. So that was a win.

“See…? This is why I said rides first.” He had to rub it in. He would have laughed too, but had to cut himself off with a threatening heave.  
“Just…stop talking…” Keith groaned.  
“No, no. I want to enjoy this,” his stomach gave another lurch, “...in a second.”

It actually took a few minutes, waging a silent battle with their swirling guts, before it all passed. He never would’ve thought that the first ride would come so close to disaster. What a way to start the day. Teacups! Of all things, two defenders of the universe were almost put out of commission by a little kid ride. The absurdity became too much to bear and bubbled out in fits of laughter. Keith looked at him strangely before catching on and breaking down to let his own chuckles join the mix. It was a beautiful moment.

“I can’t believe it! Wait till I tell Hunk that the great Keith Kogane was almost defeated by teacups.” He could barely get the words out. Just rethinking the scene set off another fit of giggles. Though the comment sombered up his partner.  
“The same happened to you too.”  
“Nope. I think you had more of that distinct green look going on.”  
“...” He gave it a moment of consideration. “You kept dry heaving.”  
“Nuh-uh. Now what next,” Lance flatout denied, stretching his arms.  
“Sure you can handle it?”  
“Course I can. It wouldn’t be fun otherwise.”  
“You’re impossible. I bet you puke on the next one,” Keith replied with one of those soft smiles. The kind that were gradually getting more frequent.  
“Uh…” he stammered “Yeah! Let’s go.”

The next few rides were without incident. They hit a haunted house, a ferris wheel, and some roller coasters, including one that almost flung them off into orbit. Other than that, there were no close calls, and Keith looked like he was having a blast. Seeing his reaction was all Lance needed to enjoy himself. He wondered if the guy had ever been to an amusement park before. If so it had probably been a long time. All in all, it was a looking to be a great day. Until the river rapids. Lance almost didn’t want to remember that ride.

When they approached it, it was obviously not the standard lazy river ride. The operator boasted about the amazing attraction features. Magnetized water, opposing polarities, and lots of other stuff that would have interested Pidge or Hunk, but he tuned out. Instead his eyes took in the sight of flumes, loop-de-loops, and were those floating water bubbles!? Oh it looked awesome! He didn’t care how it worked, they had to get on.

“Are you coming?” Keith acted first. Seating himself among four other passengers, obviously saving the last spot by death-glaring at any alien that came close.  
“You bet your Quiznak I am!” Lance scrambled in.  
“I still don’t think you’re using that word right,” he commented dryly.  
“Shh!”

Whether by bad luck or poor timing, the two ended up sitting across from each other rather than next to. On one hand, Lance would have a great view in watching his boyfriend inevitably bump into another rider. On the other, he felt disappointed he wouldn’t be the one squishing him. Maybe he could change spots? He started to lift a leg over the middle section, just as a safety bar dropped down and forced him to remain in place.

“Please stay seated for the duration of the ride. Enjoy!” a helpful robotic voice chirped out.  
“Seriously?” he gave an annoyed huff, pushing against the locked-in place metal. It didn’t budge. Even if he squirmed out, there was no way he would be getting someone to give up their seat now.  
“What are you up to?”  
“Well I was going to come over and hold your hand if you got scared. But it looks like you’re on your own.”  
“That means you’re worried? I can move.” The red paladin looked like he would be willing to break things if Lance needed him to. Lance felt touched.  
“Nah, I’m good. Relax.”

The craft drifted out of the dock while they talked, coming to rest a few feet below a long transparent tube. They sat there, bobbing gently in the water. Lance started to wonder what was going on when a blast hit the craft from below, sending them airborne. The entire vessel and all its passengers rocketed upwards on a torrential stream. The roar and rush of water made it feel like they were in the middle of an erupting geyser. The craft tottered dangerously close to slipping off the edge. Lance held onto the bar in a deathgrip, petrified. He couldn’t even scream. This was it. They were gonna fall and die.

Instead of plunging to their doom, the current reached up to the tube. The craft slipping easily inside with nothing more than a whoosh of air. All sound cut off, leaving the roaring silence of his pounding heart and the steady rush of water. Deafened and panicked, he managed to breathe properly again as they exited the tunnel. There was an audible pop before they splashed into one of the suspended chutes. He glanced over the edge, getting a dizzying look of the tiny park below. They were high. Matching the top arcs of some of the rollercoasters and steadily picking up speed.

“Too much for you?” Keith smirked at Lance’s white knuckled grip.  
“Never! I’m completely fine.”

No way was he going to wimp out at the beginning of the ride. Besides, they were currently at an easy spot. The craft swayed along the river in a comfortable rocking motion that could have put him to sleep. The current continued to sweep downwards into a set of rapids. They weren’t rough, just bumpy, enough to jostle the riders around. Lance couldn’t hold back a laugh when the vessel hit a particularly rough dip, causing a passenger to topple over and smack into Keith’s shoulder. The alien blubbered out a possible apology while Keith grimaced in helping to push it upright. Take that, Keith. That was karma.

His merriment got cut short when the vessel entered the next section. The path flowed normally for a few feet and then...stopped. That was the best way to put it. Nothing but open sky where there should have been the rest of the route. He knew there had to be a logical reason. But that didn’t convince his heart to ease up from its rapid fluttering.

“Uh...hey...hey Keith,” he stuttered.  
“Yeah?”  
“I don’t know if you noticed, but we’re about to go off a cliff!”  
“What are you talking about. It’s just a ride.” Lance knew that, but it helped to hear. Keith sounded so nonchalant. No one else looked concerned either.  
“Yeah. Of cours-EEEE!!” he broke off into a high pitched scream as the craft lunged forward with a sudden burst of speed, going straight over the edge.

The pressing force lifted him from the seat. The safety bar dug into his legs, the thin metal apparatus being the only preventative from flying out. He latched onto the arm of the nearest passenger, as if that would help any, completely unaware that he was still screaming. Plunging in freefall, down, down, down. The craft reached solid ground and...bounced? His body jarred with the motion. There had been a distinctive sinking in feeling before the whole vessel went forward with a _boing!_ Lance’s poor brain struggled to keep up with the fact they were still alive, an almost impossible task as the craft hurtled onwards. Continuing to bounce and skim across apparently rubbery sets of suspended water bubbles, like a stone skipping across a lake. Which is to say, they were rattled around mercilessly. Lance was dimly glad the craft managed to stay intact.

The last bubble served as a spring into a calm pool and stayed there only long enough for him to get in a few blessed lungfuls of air. Then it was off again, whirling through some loop-de-loops and plummeting in a flume drop. Returning the ride to ground level. They must be nearing the end, finally! He released the poor alien that had been victim to his death grip this whole time. He hoped he hadn’t hurt them--there were no apparent marks. So no harm, no foul, right? He flashed an appreciative smile and got a gentle coo in return. Ok, all good. What a nightmare that would have been.

“Lance.” Keith’s mouth cracked in a wide smile. There were signs he had been laughing, and pretty much at that; probably at Lance’s expense.  
“What Keith?” It was a snippy reply; he was feeling a bit cranky he had missed it.  
“You’re really in your element.”  
“What?” He gave a dumb, dazed look. Then yelped as a cold wave of water crashed on his back.

The wave turned out to be a torrential waterfall that made quick work of drenching him completely, leaving water dripping off his hair, and squishing around in his shoes and socks. He gasped in shock. How could he forget the traditional water ride ending!? It didn’t matter that the rest of the group got just as soaked shortly afterwards, it always felt worse to be the first hit.

Shoes squeaked in squelchy progress back to the main park area. Keith hummed in contentment; not seeming bothered at all. Well the dampness did feel kind of refreshing, now that Lance thought about it.

“I think we should go again.” Keith squeezed out his hair, flicking the droplets at Lance.  
“Nuh-uh. No way.” It had actually been fun, but way too stressful for him to want a repeat episode. Besides he really, really needed to dry his feet. They felt so gross.  
“Alright. Then what.”  
“First, we go there.” He pushed on Keith’s shoulders to direct to a nearby bathroom, trying to avoid staring at how the wet T-shirt clung to those muscles.

There might have been a slight noise of confused protest, but oh well. He took off for a stall, ditching Keith at the door.

Lance came out, toweling the last of the moisture off his face and tossed the garbage into the trash. _Yeah! 3pts!_ Dry and ready to resume the fun, there was just one thing missing. Keith. Not again! A quick glance confirmed, yep, missing again. He groaned. That made this, what, the second time today that his boyfriend vanished? It had only been a few minutes. Where did he go? He hoped this wasn’t a sign that the date was going badly, was it? Anxiety gnawed at him as he searched. Was he getting ditched on purpose? No. Keith wouldn’t do that. Any problems were usually quickly pointed out and addressed. Lance felt more at ease by the time he spotted the back of a familiar hairstyle.

“Hey! There you are.” He crept up to wrap his arms around his partner’s waist. Belatedly noticing the look and feel of cold, hard, Paladin armor. Huh? A wardrobe change?  
“Babe? Is everything ok?” he asked as Keith turned around and...woah. Ok, not Keith.

He stared as a thick, red snout came into view. _That’s a lot of teeth…_ The mouth was filled with jagged canines that protruded past the jaw, like an alligator’s. The alien it belonged to kept the reptile’s short and stocky look as well. It leveled a puzzled glance at him, quite the accomplishment for something with no eyebrows. Lance scrambled to let go.

“No touching.” The voice rumbled out as the gator crossed its arms “Do you want an autograph or something?”

The alien was doing its best to look imposing, even though it stood shorter than Lance. Something about this whole thing was oddly familiar. The pose, the uniform, the hair… It clicked. He had hugged a Keith imposter! An alien alligator impersonator. Ok. This was kind of hilarious. It had to be one of the official park employees. What else could explain the outfit? He had to show Keith. His reaction would be priceless.

The alien continued to stare expectantly.

“Oh! Uh, nope. Great job on the hair, carry on!” He gave a thumbs up and squeezed past a small group of park goers. That had been weird. Time to find the real mullet.

It took another minute of searching before locating Keith. He stood with some kind of food in each hand, gaze fixed on a nearby crowd. So that’s where he had gone, a snack run. Lance strolled over, certain he had the right one this time.

“Found you.” He smiled.  
“Hey.” Violet eyes glanced over toward him briefly.  
“You would not believe what just happened. It was wild. You gotta hear this.”  
“Mmhmm,” he made a noncommittal sound.  
“That’s all I get? What are you…” he followed the line of sight. “...oh no way!”

He should have expected this after the recent mishap, he really should have. Standing in the center of the crowd was a tall, blue, lizard-like alien. It openly gestured with four arms while signing an autograph with its tail. Most strikingly, it had on a fairly accurate replica of the blue paladin armor. Complete with a brown wig sticking out from underneath the helmet. A cosplayer! Or rather, another official park worker! It gave Lance a surreal feeling of deja vu.

“He’s actually pretty good,” Keith hummed, handing over one of the snacks.  
At that moment, the alien shot out two sets of finger guns with a dazzling toothy smile “Hey babes. You must be a Weblum, because your looks just devoured my world.”  
“I do not act like that.” Real Lance barely tasted the sweet, crunchy food. Too focused on watching the audience giggle and fawn over the impostor.  
“Hmm. You’re right. You use cheesier pickup lines.”  
“Exactly. I mean, hey!” He gestured wildly. “My lines are gold.”  
“Essentially of no use?”  
“No!” he gaped. Dang. He had no hope of winning against that comeback.

Keith seemed to be waiting for a response. They frequently had bickering matches for fun and normally Lance would be giving it right back. But his mind was completely blank now. What could he do? Although…the alien gave him a slight idea.

“Heeeyyy Keith.” He draped an arm around the other boy’s shoulders, earning a quizzical brow lift.  
“Imagine what I could do with that many arms,” he leaned close, whispering into an ear.  
Keith tensed like a cat ready to bolt. “I have no idea,” he said, obviously trying not to think.  
“I bet I’d be pretty ‘handy’,” he laughed. Keith gave the intended reaction of pulling out of the hold.  
“Lance!” He looked both annoyed and on the verge of blushing, arms crossed.  
“Hm? I’m making a simple statement.”  
Keith gave him a slight glare. “I don’t believe you.”  
“Hah. Alright, alright.” He held his hands up in a placating manner.  
“...”  
“Let’s forget about that. I’ll make it up to you.”

He continued to get eyed warily, but eventually a nod showed agreement.

Lance’s definition of appeasing Keith took the form of stumbling across a gift shop and insisting they go inside to find presents for everyone. Like most areas of the park, the merchants were still in the process of converting it to Voltron-friendly wares. Which meant that it was no surprise to see Galra-themed items scattered throughout the store. Lance was sorely tempted to buy a giant Zarkon plush on display, if only to scare the bejeebers out of Hunk. Sadly, it was still too expensive, even at the apparently slashed prices.

“What do you think about this for Pidge?” He held up a small, green plushie. It sort of looked like a rabbit and was dressed in the green Paladin armor, with cute floppy ears poking through the helmet. The best part? It squeaked when squeezed--making it absolutely adorable.  
“Would she kill me?” he chuckled.  
“No. She might set your shower to perma-cold though,” Keith’s amused reply came from somewhere behind him.  
“She probably would…” He weighed out the risks. Maybe if he gave it to Hunk to give to her?

The Pidge Bunny went back on the shelf for now as he resumed searching.

“How about-” He paused. Eyes alighting upon another item that gave him a great idea. With deliberate slowness, he grabbed it and stood up. This was going to take skill.  
“How about what?” Keith asked.

Lance froze. He glanced back. Keith was still facing the shelves, still involved in his own browsing. Safe.

“Oh. I was going to say, how about we get something for Coran and Allura too. Like a #1 Space Uncle mug, or I bet they have one of those ‘I saved the universe and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt’ shirts,” he rambled out a random excuse.  
“Coran would like a book better. I’ll check.” The sounds of items being shuffled around reached his ears. Good, Keith was fully distracted now. Time to make his move.

Not a lot of people expected it, but Lance could be quiet when he wanted to be. Having three older siblings around who could rat you out at any moment had helped him learn to be a bit sneaky. He could totally pull off the cool ninja sharpshooter name he bragged about. This was one such moment.

He snuck up behind Keith. Slipping the item towards that thick hair. He got it halfway on when Keith decided to take that moment to turn. Before Lance could process if it had been instinct or simple coincidence, Keith had already reacted. The response was quick. He spun to grab Lance around the wrist, just enough force to be painful.

“Ow.” The hold loosened in response, but didn’t release.  
“What are you doing?”

They gazed over each other. Lance could see the confusion swirling around in those violet eyes. The item, a Voltron red lion eared headband, still hung loosely; half suspended like a lopsided hair clip. The idea had seemed funny at the time. Put the headband on, bolt, and watch the reaction. Lance was about to explain when he caught sight of an identical blue headband clasped in Keith’s free hand.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he grinned.  
Keith shrugged “I was going to do this.” He moved.

A brief struggle ensued--ending with Lance earning a new set of ears resting on top of his head. That had been totally unfair. Keith hadn’t released his arm at all. If it had been free he would have won, and remarked as such. Keith did not agree.

“Hm. I think they suit you.” The reply sounded far too smug.  
“Well I’m glad you’re happy now. But how about this!” He leapt forwards, set on fixing that headband. Keith easily dodged out of reach, backing up against the shelf.  
“Now you’re stuck!” He tried again, only for Keith to slip underneath his arms.  
“Having trouble?” Keith’s mouth twitched upwards.  
“No! Stop! Moving!” Each word was punctuated by more hurried attempts and more failures, Keith skimming away with practiced ease.

Keith watched like a pleased cat when Lance paused to take a breather. This was getting nowhere. Honestly, by this point it was more amazing that the ears were still dangling temptingly in the same place. Time for a new approach.

“But babe. You’d look so cute with them on,” he whined.  
“Cute?” Keith’s nose wrinkled up “Maybe I don’t want to be cute.”  
“A bit late for that. They’re already halfway on. Makes you look like a preschooler with their shoes untied. It’s extra adorable,” he cooed.  
“I do not…” As expected, the attention shifted towards the offending item. Fingers wrapping around to start pulling it out. That was Lance’s opportunity to rush in. He moved, ducking to hold Keith’s elbow; stopping the removal. From there he was able to easily pluck the headband and set it securely on top. The ears immediately flattened back to match the Paladin’s displeased frown.

Lance’s eyes widened, “Holy fudge! They move!”  
“I know. I saw yours turn when you tried to grab me.”

Oh, so that’s how Keith kept avoiding him. Well that and his natural fighting instinct. So if those ones moved, did that mean…? Lance let his hand slide up alongside the smooth material, reaching the triangular point above his head. He felt the ear twitch responsively underneath his finger.

“Oh gosh. Do you know what this means?”  
“No.” He sounded uninterested, but the red ears swiveled forward to show otherwise.  
“Well, in addition to making you even easier to read,” he chuckled, “we’ve found the perfect souvenirs!”  
“You mean for everyone?”  
“Yeah! Think of it. They’ll make everyone look either completely hilarious, or ridiculously cute. Win-win.”  
“I guess it could be a good idea. Ok, only if you get Pidge to wear them.”  
“Deal! Come on. Let’s see if we can find all the colors.”

In the end, they found corresponding ears for each of the castle residents, except for orange; poor Coran. Lance grabbed an extra pink one to make up for the lack. Perhaps Hunk could paint it. Keith also managed to find an interesting data pad with updated information on the planet and its galaxy. So Coran would be delighted either way at the thoughtfulness. They had to shell out some of their limited GAC supply to pay for it all, the bracelets simply weren’t enough to allow for an all out shopping spree.

Outside, the sky was starting to turn to dusk, the growing darkness unaffected by the visible but distant moons. Lance begrudgingly removed his headband because, as Keith pointed out, it could ruin the surprise. Both sets went into the bags with the others.

“We should head back soon,” Keith spoke up.  
“Yeah soon. But we gotta do this one last thing. If it doesn’t knock your socks off, nothing will.”  
“This actually has been,” there was some struggle to find the words, “nice.”  
“Aww...” Lance melted at the sweetness. “Yeah. I’m having a great time too. Let’s make sure it has that perfect ending.

He led the way to the park’s central area, where a good amount of park-goers had already gathered. More were filtering in by the minute so Lance kept them towards an edge where they wouldn’t be as packed in. No need to be like a pair of uncomfortable sardines. Even this amount was already making Keith bristle. He sidled up to throw an arm around those tense shoulders and the gesture earned a quirked smile, and a little relaxation.

They stood like that, watching the sky darken and the stars poke out. For a bit, it seemed like that’s all that would happen. But Lance knew better, and he wasn’t disappointed. A streak of blue light shot towards the sky. It didn’t explode as a firework would have. Instead, it turned and expanded to fill their vision. It forced the blackness away with its glow before blinking it. The emptiness filled in for a minute...two minutes. Lance counted the seconds under his breath.

Nothingness. Perhaps almost another minute went by when the sky exploded. A multitude of colors flew past to quickly replace the one that had been lost. They scattered the night to the far edges. Lance felt a thrill rise up within. A red glow turned and spun to chase a yellow. Disappearing and reappearing within the same moment. There was no order or pattern that could be discerned. A nearly empty sky would fill in the span of a blink. Colors would merge and separate into shades he didn’t know existed.

And even all that still wasn’t as captivating as the few sideways glances he caught of Keith’s face. The paladin was completely enraptured. Head tilted back to the sky, lips parted slightly in awe. The heavens reflected in his eyes, their own miniature galaxies.

As the last of the lights trailed off into the distance. He leaned in to plant a chaste kiss on those lips, and then Keith matched it. Lingering against each other for a moment more. They broke apart.

“Hey Lance.”  
“Yeah?”  
“Thanks.”small, hesitant, but grateful.  
“Anytime.” he smiled.

And that’s how the best first date ever came to an end.

**Author's Note:**

> Art:  
> [Giftshop Goofs by Taytei](http://taytei.tumblr.com/post/178196393316/a-fun-klance-commission-for-silvia-moon-i-hope)  
> [Teacup Comic](https://imgur.com/a/WoOwg3Z) by [Toto (twitter page)](https://twitter.com/eeocc)


End file.
